General News

Looking to get the year started on a more romantic note? Now’s the perfect time to join online dating sites. According to Match.com and other notable online dating sites and apps, the biggest surge of new member signups happen between January 1^st and Valentine’s Day.

So, you have a lot of time to see who’s out there and try a new app.

This year, eHarmony reported a 21% increase in mobile registrations since the holidays began, and dating app Zoosk also expected a 20% jump in users the first two weeks of January. Grindr, a dating app for gay men, typically experiences a 30-50% increase in users over the holidays, and Match expects an increase of 60% in new members before Valentine’s Day. Most dating apps agree that this is the busiest time of year for them.

The desire to sign up for an online dating site now may be for personal reasons. Most people have spent the holidays together with family members, creating a sense of warmth and togetherness that some singles feel might be missing from their lives. For those who spent the holidays alone, this time of year can feel particularly isolating, which can provide inspiration for expanding social networks and dating. There’s also the plethora of Instagram photos of happy couples taking vacations together, not to mention the announcement of engagement or baby news over social media, which can also create the desire for more people to want to meet someone special. And what about New Year’s resolutions to date and meet more people?

It seems there’s something about this time of year that motivates people to try online dating – but perhaps it’s less about emotion and more about having the time off for the holidays. People have the opportunity to look at their personal lives and see what they could be doing when they have free time.

According to news website MarketWatch, there’s evidence that people tend to join online dating sites when they have time off work and want to look forward to something personal. So it makes sense that the biggest online dating membership surge the Sunday after New Year’s Eve, when most people are still enjoying the holiday break but know that work is about to start up again.

Interestingly, this theory holds true outside of the winter holidays. Some dating sites, including Zoosk, also saw a surge in new members during the U.S. government shutdown in 2013, when many people’s jobs were affected and they were prevented from going to work.

Regardless, this is the best time of year to join a dating website or download a dating app. More people are online now than ever, which means more opportunities. For more information on the popular dating services mentioned you can read our Match.com review and our eHarmony review.

Happy dating in 2016!

Online daters – especially women – often complain about unwanted and lude messages they get from potential matches on dating apps. Some guys are so aggressive with initial contact that they send intimate photos of themselves - the so-called “d*ck pic” - which is offensive to many women, if not even a bit scary. But there is little control dating apps have over messages between two people who swiped right and started communicating, which is why many find it such a frustrating experience.

Dating app The Grade aims to change that. Back in October, they launched the controversial “Peer Review” feature on their dating app, essentially letting other users provide direct feedback for online and offline experiences with other singles on the app.  This move was met with skepticism, with some wondering if angry and jilted matches might lash out and tarnish the reputation of someone else on the site, simply because there was no third party witness. Essentially, users could say whatever they wanted about a date.

The Grade surveyed its users to see how they actually felt about the new feature, and according to the company’s findings, 71% of people believe that Peer Review helps weed out the creeps.

Case in point: the majority of The Grade’s female users believe Peer Review provides a safer and better-informed dating experience. And according to a statement released from the company… it finally eliminates the "d*ck pics." Of the 11% of men who admitted to sending an unsolicited photo of their private parts, 90% reported that they would stop if they knew a match could review them.

Could this lead to better dating behavior – knowing that other people are watching and reviewing you?

It seems likely. The Peer Review feature provides feedback from other singles, mainly to help inform users’ decisions to swipe right or left. In fact, The Grade reports that 78% of singles are more likely to “like” (or swipe right) someone with a good Peer Review grade, while 88% are less likely to “like” someone with a bad Peer Review grade.

Ninety-five percent of The Grade’s users are pro-Peer Review, and 85% of the 15,000 peer reviews submitted so far have been positive. Results show that the most common reason a user would give someone a negative review is if that person was already in an existing relationship or lied about their profile details.

Despite the controversy, The Grade might be on to something – accountability for behavior in online dating. That is something most of us can get behind.

eHarmony is offering a 7 day free trial this week to celebrate New Years here in the United States and Canada. It starts Wednesday December 30th, 2015 and ends on Tuesday January 5th, 2016.

It's time for New Years resolutions and for single men and women, finding a compatible partner is usually high on the list. During the Christmas break and right up to Valentines Day is the busiest time for online dating services. With eHarmony's positive reputation of matchmaking it is an extremely popular choice for singles. This is a good for you as it means their are a lot of potential matches using the service now.

With eHarmony's free trial, all members can communicate for free with no credit card required. All you need to do is create an account and fill in the eHarmony questionnaire which asks you about what you like in a person and questions designed to quantify your personality traits. The questionnaire can takes about 30 minutes to complete and once finished you are given your first set of matches which have been selected by eHarmony's matching algorithm. The algorithm is designed to match members together who have the best chance of creating a long-term relationship. You can then review your matches and then start the communication process with the ones you like. eHarmony free trials do not include the secure call feature (a phone service), photos, or skipping straight to email. You will have to purchase a full membership to have access to these features.

For more information about this dating service which specializes in long-term relationships, you can read our eHarmony review.

When you're as trendsetting as Tinder, you're bound to inspire copy cats. Coffee Meets Bagel is the latest dating service to pull a Tinder-esque move, launching the ‘Send A Woo’ feature that allows users to express extra interest in a potential match.

Tinder debuted its 'Super Like' feature a few months ago to a flurry of media attention. Users swipe up to Super Like someone, indicating higher than average interest in their profile. Ingeniously, Super Like can only be used on one profile per day, making it actually feel like a special gesture.

Coffee Meets Bagel's 'Send A Woo' operates on a similar principle. The goal is to stand out from the sea of other suitors. “Woo your Bagel to get noticed faster,” explains the app. “Send more Woos to show more interest.”

Because of Coffee Meets Bagel's unique matching system, 'Send A Woo' stands to make even more of an impact that Tinder's Super Like. CMB users are shown only one match per day. If both users like each other, the app connects them in a text conversation. Each match expires after 24 hours.

Here's where 'Send A Woo' could come in handy. You only have 24 hours to get an intriguing match to like you back. If you don't, they disappear forever and you have no other potential dating options on Coffee Meets Bagel for the rest of the day. Using the 'Send A Woo' feature could be the extra special something that gets you noticed and makes magic happen before your time is up.

CMB users earn 'beans' (as in 'coffee beans') that unlock more features. Beans can also be purchased in the 'Bean Shop.' Beans are required in order to send woos so, like Tinder's one-Super-Like-per-day scheme, it feels special in order to receive one. You know the sender has gone out of their way to catch your attention.

Founder and CEO Dawoon Kang told TechCrunch that January is one of the busiest times for online dating, and that the introduction of ‘Send a Woo’ is meant not only to help users find more meaningful connections, but also to help them have more meaningful conversations after those connections are made.

'Send A Woo' is only in its infancy, but in beta testing users who tried the feature saw 3x more matches than those who didn't. Tinder saw similar numbers with Super Like, so expect to see more features like this in the future.

If you'd like to try out Coffee Meets Bagel for iOS or Android, check our our review.

PlentyOfFish has been in the game for years, but to keep up with upstarts like Tinder, continuous reinvention is a must. This year has seen plenty of change for POF, from being acquired by IAC/InterActive's Match Group to going public as part of the Match Group's IPO. Now the mobile app is getting a makeover.

A new update, launched December 15, 2015, has added several new features to the apps for iOS and Android. Bugs have also been fixed for a more stable user experience.

The first new feature will appeal to safety-minded singles. With free Voice Calling, you can place a secure, private call to someone without giving out your contact details. To call, open a message in your inbox. If the recipient is accepting Voice Calls, tap the phone icon to dial. Take note: calls are made through the app, so connect to wi-fi first if you're concerned about exceeding your monthly data limit.

There’s a new dating app on the market, and this one puts safety first in a big way. Blume has just launched an app that claims to solve the catfishing problem in online dating.

If you’ve been online dating, you’re probably familiar with the term catfishing. It happens when one online dater tries to deceive another online dater by lying about who he is, his intentions, even his photos and Facebook profile. Usually, people trying to “catfish” other online daters are trying to gain access to financial or personal information, taking advantage of someone else’s vulnerability.

Many dating apps have tried to address the problem by providing “verification” of some sort for everyone who joins a website, usually by having you sign up with your Facebook profile. But some have managed to get around the restrictions, taking advantage of other online daters by sending fake pictures and messages.

Blume has gone one step further by making verification part of the communication process. When you are ready to message someone you mutually “like” (similar to Tinder’s swipe), you cannot proceed without first taking a selfie in that moment. Only when both matches take and send the selfie so each can compare and make sure it’s the same person – are they allowed to communicate. (This might also prompt some late-night hair and make-up attention – instead of hanging out and swiping in your pajamas, one of the benefits to online dating.) You have seven seconds to compare the photos (like Snapchat) before they disappear. Once you take the selfies and they are accepted, then you can begin chatting.

While this is a compelling hook and many people do enjoy taking selfies, this might also be a detraction for using the app. Most of us want to appear camera-ready, and might not like the way we look in selfies, or want to spend time taking the right picture, in the right light, in the right outfit (of course). One benefit is that the photo disappears – but a potential hazard is that you might think your curated profile won’t look the same as your selfie – and that your date might not think you’re the same person.

Not to mention, if you like to sit at the bar or restaurant swiping Tinder while waiting for your friends, this would not bode well for Blume. A poorly lit bar with lots of people around might not be the ideal time to take a selfie for some people. Or even sitting in a café having a coffee.

But if you’re willing to give it a shot and take your chances with your selfies, go for it. It might be the latest online dating craze.